Railway switch operating apparatus



8 1939. JKI. GRAMMER 2,168,796

RAILWAY SWITCH OPERATING APPARATUS Filed Nqv. 19, 1957 2 Sheets-SheetHIS ATTORNEY Aug. 1939. J. 1. GRAMMER 2,168,796

RAILWAY SWITCH OPERATING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 19, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2H I 7 0 w m H &6 wk M m 9 4 4 F F n 6 5 7 6. A J s CO I. mm MMJHZb m. 68 5? 9 f 7 B |lH ||1| III! I 0 a m o m M 7 WW 9 I w M l 6 M 4 n0 o g L mo 7 F b 1 0 I 6 a w M L w M Patented Aug. 8, 1939 PATENT OFFICE RAILWAYSWITCH OPERATING APPARATUS James I. Grammer, Penn Township, AlleghenyCounty, Pa., assignor to The Union Switch & Signal Comp'any, Swissvale,Pa.,, a corporation of Pennsylvania.

Application November 19, 1937, Serial No. 175,482

10Glaims.

My invention relates to railway switch operating, apparatus; andparticularly to apparatus for operating spring switches.

One object of my invention is the provision, in

a'switch operating mechanism of the type which includes within onehousing a vertical switch actuating shaft, means for biasing the switchto whichever position it is moved, means for locking the switch in oneextreme position in such manner that when a train trails the switchthe'switch Will become automatically'unlocked,.and means for controllingthe. movement of the points by the biasing devices while a train istrailing the switch, of means for operating the vertical switchactuating shaft bya hand-throw lever. operating in a verticalplane only.

Other' objects and characteristic features of my invention will. appearas the. description proceeds.

I shall describe two forms of apparatus embodying my invention, andshall. then point out the novel features thereof in claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is atop plan View showing arailwayswitch provided with one form of switch operating mechanism embodying myinvention, Fig. 2 is an. enlarged top plan view, partly in' section. ofthe operatingmechanism shown in Fig; 1. Fig. 3 is. a longitudinalsectional view. of. the mechanism shown in Fig. 2. Figs. 4 and. 5 aredetail .views showing on an enlargedscale portions .of the mechanismillustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. Figs..6, '7 and 8 are detail views showingmodifications of a portion of the mechanism shown in Figs..1 and 2.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts in each of theseveral views.

Referring first to Fig.1, the reference character A designates .arailway switch comprising as usual two fixed rails. I and. l and twomovable rails 2 and 2a. Thefixed. rails l and l are laid on tie plates 3.and are secured to crossties 4 in the usual manner. The. movable rails2 and 2 are fastenedtogether by. a front rod 5, .a. head rod 6,.a bridlerod 1, and a tierod 8,.and may be. moved intov a normal. or a reverseposition by means of an operating rod 9 which is connected with the headrod'fithrough themedium of the usual switch basket l0. .When the switchoccupies its normal position in which it is shown in Fig. 1, thmovablerail 2 engages thefixed rail. I, and the movable rail.2 isspaced. a slight distance from the fixed rail I. When the switch. isreversed, however, the movable rail 2 then engages the fixed rail l andthe movable rail 2. is spaced from the fixed rail I Associated with theswitch A is a switchoperating mechanism B embodying my invention, whichmechanism I shall now describe. As best seen in Figs. 2 and 3, themechanism B comprises a suitable casing H which is'bolted or spiked tothe ties, and which is closed at one end by a removable cover l2 and atthe other end by 'a removable cover [3, Journaled in bearings l4 and I5formed respectively in the top and bottom wallsof the main part of thecasing H is a switch actuating shaft H, the lower end of which extendsbelow the casing and carries an adjustable crank l8, and the upper endof which projects above the casing and is provided with a signal lamp IQfor indicating the position of the switch- The crank I8 is. pivotallyconnected with the previously described operating rod 9, the parts beingso proportioned that rotation of the shaft I! through an angle ofapproximately 90 will move the switch between its normal and reversepositions.

Journaled on the switch actuating shaft l1 within the casing l l is asleeve 20 which is. biased to one position by means of two spring.assemblies SI and S2. These spring assembliesform no part of mypresentinvention, and may, for example, be similar to those shown anddescribed in an application for. Letters Patent of. the United States,Serial No, 176,836, filed by Herbert L. Bone, on November 27, 1937, for.Railway switch operating apparatus. Since these spring assemblies formno part of my present invention and are similar to those shown in thesaid. Bone application, it is believed to be sufii'cient for purposes ofthe present invention to point out that each of these spring. assembliescomprises a suitable housing. 22 and a spring rod 23 which extends intothe housing, and is biased to one position by means of suitable springs,not shown, in

right-hand end to the. casing II by means of apin 21 which passesthrougha. lug 28 formed on. the. casing II andthrough lugs 26 formed onthe housing. 22. The projecting end of the springrod 23 of each springunit is operatively connected with the sleeve 20 by. meansof a pin 29which passes through the rod. and through aligned apertures provided invertically spaced laterally projecting lugs 30 formed on the sleeve. Theparts are so proportioned that when the spring rods 23 of both unitsoccupy the positions to which they are biased, the sleeve 20 will beheld in a central position in which the lugs 30 extend parallel to thelongitudinal axis of the mechanism, but that, if the sleeve is rotatedaway from this position in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 2,through an angle corresponding to the switch stroke, the force exertedon the sleeve 20 by the spring unit SI will continue to increase as thesleeve approaches its clockwise extreme position, but the spring unit S2will function as a toggle, and will act to oppose the movement of thesleeve until the sleeve has been rotated halfway to its clockwiseextreme position. whereupon the spring unit will then act to assist thefurther movement of the sleeve. The parts are still further soproportioned that, if the sleeve 20 is rotated away from the positionshown in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 2, through anangle corresponding to the switch stroke, the force exerted on thesleeve 20 by the spring unit S2 will continue to increaseas the sleeveapproaches its counterclockwise extreme position, but the spring unit SIwill now function as a toggle and will act to oppose the movement of thesleeve until the sleeve has been rotated halfway to its counterclockwiseextreme position, whereupon this latter spring unit will then act toassist the movement of the sleeve. The parts are still further soproportioned that the force exerted by the spring unit SI tending torestore the sleeve 20 to its normal position when the sleeve has beenrotated to its clockwise extreme position, as viewed in Fig. 2, willexceed the opposing force exerted by the spring unit S2, and that theforce exerted by the spring unit S2 tending to restore the sleeve 20 tothe position shown when the sleeve has been rotated to its clockwiseextreme position, as viewed in Fig. 2, will. exceed the opposing forceexerted by the spring unit SI, and it follows, therefore, that, when thesleeve 20 has been rotated away from the position shown in eitherdirection, as soon as the force which caused the rotation of the sleeveis removed, the spring units will act to restore the sleeve to theposition shown.

For reasons which will become apparent as the description proceeds, itis desirable to prevent the biasing devices Si and S2 from returning thesleeve 20 to its biased position at too rapid a rate after the sleevehas been moved away from this position, without interfering with therotation of the sleeve away from this position in either direction. Forthis purpose, the sleeve is pivotally connected by means of the pin 29with the piston rod 35 of a dashpot or builing device 36,

the cylinder 31 of which ispivotally attached to the right-hand end wallof the casing I by means of a pin 38 and a lug 39. The bumng device 36forms no part of my present invention, and may be of any suitable typewhich will allow free and unrestricted movement of the piston rod out ofthe cylinder, but which will retard movement of the piston rod into thecylinder. As here shown, this buiiing device is similar in all respectsto the bufiing device shown and described in Letters Patent of theUnited States No. 1,830,803, granted to William C, McWhirter, onNovember 10, 1931,. for Railway switch operating apparatus, and it isbelieved to be unnecessary, therefore, to describe it in detail here.

The mechanism also includes differential gearing for at timesoperatively connecting the sleeve 20 with the switch actuating shaft I1,and for at other times permitting movement of the switch actuating shaftby a hand-throw lever 45 independently of any movement of the sleeve.

As here shown, this gearing comprises two bevel gears one of which 46,is pinned to the shaft l1 directly above the upper end of the sleeve 20,and the other of which 41 is pinned to the sleeve 20 in confrontingspaced relation with respect to the gear 46. The gears 46 and 41 meshwith two bevel pinions 48 and 49 journaled on pins 50 and 5]respectively, secured to a sector gear 52 which is journaled on thesleeve 20 between the gears 46 and 41. The sector gear meshes with abevel gear 53 secured to the inner end of a shaft 54. The shaft 54 isjournaled in a boss 55 formed in the side wall of the upper part of thecasing II, and has pinned to its outer end the previously referred tohand-throw lever 45. The hand-throw lever 45 is rotatable between anextreme position in which it is shown in the drawings, which position Ishall termits normal position, and another extreme position spacedsubstantially 180 in a counterclockwise direction from the positionshown, which latter position I shall term its reverse extreme position,and associated with the lever are two lever latches 56 and 51 ofwell-known construction for latching the lever in its two extremepositions.

Reciprocably mounted in the bottom of the casing II is a locking device60 which, as here shown, comprises two spaced cross members 80 and 60connected together by means of a pair of spaced stud bolts 60 and Go Athird cross member 60 is adjustably secured to the threaded left-handends of the stud bolts 60 and 60 by means of nuts 60 and this lattermember is provided on its left-hand side with an integral rectangularlocking plunger 60 The member (ill is provided with a centrally locatedhole 60 The locking plunger 60 is guided in suitable guideways providedin the left-hand end of the casing, and. cooperates at its free end witha lock rod L which is slidably mounted in the lefthand end of the casingH at right angles to the locking plunger, The lock rod L is of standardconstruction and comprises two longitudinally adjustable bars 63 and 64attached at one end to the front rod 5 of the switch A, and providedwith registering notches 65 so disposed that these notches will alignwith the locking plunger 60 when and only when the switch occupies itsnormal position in which it is shown in the drawings.

The locking device 60 is arranged to be moved in a manner which will bedescribed hereinafter, between a left-hand extreme position in which thelocking plunger 60 is within the notches 65 in the lock rod L, and aright-hand extreme position in which the locking plunger 60 is withdrawnfrom the notches 55, and it will be apparent that, when the lockingdevice is moved to the position in which it is within the notches, theswitch will be positively locked in its normal extreme position, butthat, when the locking device is moved to theposition in which thelocking plunger is withdrawn from the notches in the lock rod, theswitch will then be unlocked.

The bolt members 60 and 66 of the locking device 60 are slidably mountedintermediate their ends in suitable lugs 66 and 61, respectively, whichproject upwardly from the bottom of the main casing l I, and surroundingeach bolt between the cross member 60* and the associated lug 66 or 61is a partly compressed coil spring 68 which constantly biases thelocking device 60 toits left-hand extreme position.

A bell-crank lever 69 is pivoted on a pin 19 mounted in a pair of spacedlugs H which project upwardly from the bottom of the casing II, and onearm 69 thereof extends upwardly and is pivotally connected to a rod 1!which extends with clearance through an opening provided in a lateralextension 69 formed on the cross member 60 and is provided with an upsethead H which cooperates with the extension in a manner which will bedescribed hereinafter. The other arm 69 of the bell crank lever 69extends upwardly and is pivotally connected with the lower end of avertical rod 72. The rod E2 is slidably mounted adjacent its upper endin a guideway 13 formed on the side wall of the casing II, and isprovided at its upper end with a roller M which cooperates with a cam 75keyed to the shaft 54. The parts are so proportioned that, when the handlever occupies the extreme position shown, the roller 14 will engage thecam at the low portion of the cam, but that, when the hand lever ismoved away from this position, the roller 14 will ride up onto the highportion of the cam and will thus force the rod 12 downwardly, therebycausing the bell crank lever 69 to rotate in a clockwise direction andmove the rod H to the right to a position in which the locking plunger6i] is withdrawn from the notches 65 in the lock rod L.

The locking device 60, in addition to being operatively connected withthe hand-throw lever in the manner just described, is also operativelyconnected with the tie rod 6 by means of linkage which I shall nowdescribe. As here shown, this linkage includes a plunger bolt 8! (seeFigs. 1 and 3) which extends with some clearance 40 through the hole 66in the cross member 6| of the locking device 68, and the head of whichbolt cooperates with the left-hand side of the cross member 60 Thethreaded right-hand end of the plunger bolt 8! is adjustably connectedby means of a turnbuckle 82 with one end of a link 83, the other end ofwhich link is pivotally connected with the long arm 84 of a bell cranklever 84. The bell crank lever 84 is pivotally supported in a crankstand 85 and has its short 1 arm 84 pivotally connected with one end ofan operating rod 86. The other end of the operating rod 86 is connectedwith the previously described tie rod 8 by means of a standard switchbasket 81.

The tie rod 8 may be located at any suitable location, but willpreferably be located approximately midway between the heel and thepoint of the switch. The base 89 of the crank stand 85 is secured bothto a gauge plate 89 and to a bed plate 98 which is bolted to one end ofthe mechanism B, and it will be apparent, therefore, that any loss ofadjustment of the parts due to creepage of the ties is prevented.- Thelinkage is so adjusted that, when the switch occupies its normal extremeposition, the head of the plunger bolt ill will engage the cross member59 when the locking plunger has been moved to the desired lockingposition within the notches 65 in the lock rod L.

This circuit controller may, however, be similar to that shown anddescribed in Letters. Patent of the United States No, 1,989,128, grantedto Herbert L. Bone, on January 29, 1935, for Railway switch operatingapparatus.

The operation of the apparatus, as a whole, is as follows: As shown inthe drawings, the movable rails of the switch A are in their normalextreme positions, and the hand-throw lever 55 is locked in its normalextreme position by means of the lever latch 56. The differentialgearing is so designed and the parts are so proportioned that underthese conditions the sleeve 29 will be driven in a clockwise direction,as viewed in Fig. 2, a slight distance beyond its central or biasedposition and, since rotation of the sector gear is prevented, the forcewhich is exerted on the sleeve 28 tending to rotate it to its normalposition will act through the differential gearing to exert a clockwiseforce on shaft H, which force yieldingly urges the switch points totheir normal positions. Furthermore, under these conditions, the roller14 engages the cam 55 at the low portion of the cam, and the lockingdevice 60 is held in its locking position, in which the locking plunger60 enters the notches 65 in the lock rod L, by means of the springs 63.As was previously pointed out, when the locking device 60 occupies itslocking position, the movable rails of the switch are locked in theirnormal positions.

I shall now assume that it is desired to reverse the switch A. To dothis, lever latch 56 is operated to release the hand-throw lever and thehand-throw lever is then rotated to its reverse extreme position. Inapproximately the first 20 of travel of the hand lever, the force whichwas previously exerted on the sleeve 28 tending to rotate it away fromits biased position is released, and the locking plunger is withdrawnfrom the notches 65 in the lock rod L by engagement of the high portionof the cam 15 with the roller 14. As the movement of the hand levercontinues, the engagement of the bevel gear 53 with the sector gear 52will rotate the sector gear in a counterclockwise direction, as viewedin Fig. 2. This rotation of the sector gear transmits through the bevelpinions 48 and 49 a force which tends to rotate the bevel gears 48 and4'! in the same direction that the sector gear is rotated. Rotation ofthe gear 41, however, is resisted by the spring units SI and S2, and theparts are so proportioned that under normal operating conditions, thesespring units will absolutely prevent rotation of the bevel gear 41. Itfollows, therefore, that under these conditions, only the bevel gear 46will be rotated in response to rotation of the hand-throw lever. Sincethe gear 46 is keyed to the switch actuating shaft 11, the rotationofthe bevel gear will, of course, rotate the shaft H, which latterrotation moves the switch to its reverse position. When the hand-throwlever reaches its full reverse position, it will become latched in thisposition by the lever latch 51. The importance of a spring bias to holdthe switch points in the reverse position is not so great as theimportance of a spring bias to hold the switch points in their normalposition, and the parts are therefore so proportioned that the sleeve 20will not be rotated from its normal position when the handthrow lever isrotated to its reverse position.

The advantage of proportioning the parts in this manner is that-there isno load on the handthrow' lever which need be resisted by the leverlatch when the hand lever is in its reverse position.

If, when the switch has been moved to its reverse position in the mannerjust described, it is desired to restore the switch to its normalposition, the hand-throw lever is restored to the position shown. Theoperation of the various parts of the apparatus under these conditionsis just the reverse of that described above, and will be readilyunderstood from the foregoing description and from an inspection of thedrawings without further description.

I shall now assume that the parts are in their normal positions, asshown in the drawings, and that a train trails the switch. As theleading wheels of the train roll along the fixed rail 1 and the movablerail 2 the movable rails 2 and 2 are forced over'laterally, but before asufficient force is developed at the points of the movable rails toovercome the opposing force of the spring units SI and S2 and cause thepoint of the movable rail 2 to move out of engagement with the fixedrail I, the movable rails, being somewhat resilient, become bent, sothat with the usual standard split switch, the tie rod 8 will be moveddownwardly, as viewed in Fig. 1, threequarters of an inch or more. Thismovement of the tie rod 8 acting through the switch basket 81, operatingrod 86, bell crank lever 84, link 83, and plunger bolt 8| moves thelocking device 60, in opposition to the bias of the springs 68, asufiicient amount to completely withdraw the locking plunger 66g fromengagement with the notches 65 in the lock rod L, thus unlocking theswitch. As a result, when the leading wheels of the train have reachedthe position in which a sufficient force is developed at the point ofthe movable rail 2 to move it out of engagement with the fixed rail I,the movable rails will be unlocked, and these rails will therefore beforced away from their normal positions by the wheels of the train inexactly the same manner as they would be if no point lock were provided.The movement of the movable rails away from their normal positions actsthrough the operating rod 9 and crank l8 to rotate the shaft I! in acounterclockwise direction, and this rotation of the shaft [1, in turn,rotates the bevel gear 46 in the same direction. Since the hand-throwlever 45 is now locked in its normal position by the lever latch 56,rotation of the sector gear 52 under these conditions is prevented bythe bevel gear 53, and as a result the counterclockwise rotation of thebevel gear 46 transmits through the bevel gears 48 and 49 a force whichcauses the sleeve 20 to rotate with the shaft [1. This rotation of thesleeve 20 actuates the spring units SI and S2 in the manner previouslydescribed, so that these spring units now tend to constantly restore themovable rails to their normal positions. The rotation of the sleev 20also actuates the buffing device 36 which, as was previously pointedout, permits unrestricted rotation of the sleeve 20 in a direction tocompress the springs of the spring units SI and S2, but acts to retardthe movement of the sleeve by the spring units. It will be seen,therefore, that the buffing device 36 will not oppose the movement ofthe movable rails away from their normal positions, but will prevent toorapid movement of the movable rails toward their normal positions by thespring units SI and S2, thus preventing the quick return of the movablerails to their normal position between the passage of the successivewheels of the train. After the train has completely passed the switch,the displacing force of the wheels will, of course, be removed, and thesprings of the spring units will then act through the sleeve 20, bevelgear 41, bevel pinions 48 and 49, and bevel gear 46 to rotate the switchactuating shaft I! in the direction to return the switch points to thepositions which they occupied before the train started to trail theswitch. During the return movement of the movable rails, the linkagewhich connects the locking device 60 with the tie rod 8 will permit thebiasing springs 68 to slowly return the locking device toward itslocking position, and since there is no deflection of the movable railsunder these conditions, the locking plunger 60g will be moved intoengagement with the side of the lock rod L befor the movable rails havereached their full normal position in which the lock rod is in theproper position for the notches 65 therein to receive the lockingplunger. As a result, after the locking plunger has once moved intoengagement with the side of the lock rod, the locking plunger will slidealong the side of the lock rod until the notches 65 in the lock rod moveinto alignment with the locking plunger, at which time the energy storedin the compressed springs 68 will force the locking plunger to itsnormal locking position, thus restoring the switch to its normal lockedposition. When the switch becomes locked in its normal locked condition,all parts will then be restored to the positions in which they are shownin the drawings.

Referring now to Figs. 6, 7 and 8, in the modified form of the apparatushere shown, the bevel pinions 48 and 49, instead of being pivotallyattached to the sector gear 52, are pivotally attached to a crank arm 95which is journaled on the sleeve 20 between the bevel gears 46 and 41 inthe same manner that the sector gear shown in Figs. 2 to 5, inclusive,is journaled on the sleeve. The crank arm 95 carries a roller 96 whichcooperates with a cam slot 91 formed in a cam 98 secured to the innerend of the shaft 54, it being noted that this shaft has been movedtoward the left-hand end of the casing some distance from the positionin which it is shown in Fig. 2. The cam slot 9'! is provided at each endwith a portion which extends at right angles to the axis of'rotation ofthe cam, and with an intermediate connecting portion which extends at anangle to the axis of rotation of the cam. The parts are so proportionedthat, when the hand lever occupies its normal position, the roller 96will engage the cam slot at the straight portion 97, and that, when thehand lever occupies its reverse position, the roller will engage the camslot at the straight portion 91*, but that, when the hand lever is beingmoved from either extreme position to the other, the roller will engagethe inclined portion of the slot. The parts are further so proportionedthat, when the roller 96 is engaging the cam slot at the straight endportion 91 the switch actuating shaft I! will be rotated by the bevelgearing to the position in which it is shown in Fig. 1, but that, whenthe roller is engaging the cam slot at the straight portion 91*, theswitch actuating shaft I! will be rotated to the position correspondingto the reverse position of the switch. The operation of the apparatus asa whole when modified in the manner shown in Figs. 6 and 7 issubstantially the same as that previously described the only differencebeing that, since when the hand-throw lever occupies either extremeposition the roller is within a portion of the cam slot which extends atright angles to'the axis of rotation'of the cam, there is no forceexerted on the hand lever tending to rotate it away from its extremepositions. It follows, therefore, that with the apparatus modified asshown in Figs. 6 and 7, the latches 56 and 51 become secondary lockingmeans.

One advantage of the construction shown in Figs. 6 and 7 is that the camslot may be so shaped as to give a high mechanical advantage at the endsof the switch stroke where it is desired to compress the springs of thespring units to bias the switch points against the stock rails.

Another advantage of the construction shown in Figs. 6 and 7 is thathigher spring forces can be employed to bias the movable rails of theswitch to either extreme position since the reaction due to these forcesis not transmitted to the hand lever.

Although I have herein shown and described only two forms of apparatusembodying my invention, it is understood that various changes andmodifications may be made therein within the scope of the appendedclaims without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. Switch operating mechanism comprising a switch actuating shaft, arotatable member, a hand-throw lever, differential gearing connectingsaid hand-throw lever with said shaft and said member, and biasing meansconnected with said member and effective to oppose its rotation whensaid hand throw lever is operated.

2. Switch operating mechanism comprising a switch actuating shaft, asleeve journaled on said shaft, a second shaft, means for rotating saidsecond shaft between two extreme positions, differential gearingconnecting said second shaft with said switch actuating shaft and withsaid sleeve, and means for biasing said sleeve to one position withsufficient force to oppose its rotationv when said second shaft isrotated.

3. Switch operating mechanism comprising a switch actuating shaft, asleeve journaled on said shaft, confronting bevel gears securedrespectively to said sleeve and to said shaft, a member journaled onsaid sleeve between said bevel gears, two bevel pinions carried by saidmember and meshing with said two bevel gears, means for rotating saidmember between two extreme positions, and means for biasing said sleeveto one position with sufficient force to oppose its rotation when saidmember is being rotated from either extreme position to the other.

4. Switch operating mechanism comprising a switch actuating shaft, asleeve journaled on said shaft, confronting bevel gears securedrespectively to said sleeve and to said shaft, a member journaled onsaid sleeve between said bevel gears, two bevel pinions carried by saidmember and meshing with said two bevel gears, means for rotating saidmember between two extreme positions and for blocking rotation of saidmember in response to rotation of said switch actuating shaft or saidsleeve when said member occupies either extreme position, and means forbiasing said sleeve to one position with sufficient force to oppose itsrotation when said member is rotated.

5. Switch operating mechanism comprising a switch actuating shaft, asleeve journaled on said shaft, confronting bevel gears securedrespectively to said sleeve and to said shaft, a

sector gear journaled on said sleeve between said bevel gears, two bevelpinions carried by said sector gear and meshing with said two bevelgears, a hand lever shaft, a hand lever secured to said hand lever shaftfor rotating it, a bevel gear secured to said hand lever shaft andmeshing with said sector gear, and means for biasing said sleeve to oneposition with sufficient force to oppose its rotation when said handlever is operated.

6. Switch operating mechanism comprising a switch actuating shaft, asleeve journaled on said shaft, confronting bevel gears securedrespectively to said sleeve and to said shaft, a lever journaled on saidsleeve between said bevel gears, two bevel pinions carried by said leverand meshing with said two bevel gears, a hand lever shaft, a hand leversecured to said hand lever shaft for rotating it, a cam secured to saidhand lever shaft provided with a cam slot, and a roller secured to saidfirst mentioned lever and riding in said cam slot for operating saidfirst mentioned lever in response to rotation of said hand lever, andmeans for biasing said sleeve to one position with sufiicient force tooppose its rotation when said hand lever is operated.

7. Switch operating mechanism comprising a switch actuating shaft, asleeve journaled on said shaft, confronting bevel gears securedrespectively to said sleeve and to said shaft, a lever journaled on saidsleeve between said bevel gears, two bevel pinions carried by said leverand meshing with said two bevel gears, a hand lever shaft, a hand leversecured to said hand lever shaft for rotating it, a cam secured to saidhand lever shaft and provided with a cam slot having end portionsextending at right angles to the axis of rotation of said cam and aconnecting portion extending at an acute angle to the axis of rotationof said slot, a roller secured to said first mentioned lever and ridingin said cam slot for operating said first mentioned lever in response torotation of said hand lever, and means for biasing said sleeve to oneposition with sumcient force to oppose its rotation when said hand leveris operated.

8. Switch operating mechanism comprising a switch actuating shaft, asleeve journaled on said shaft, a second shaft, means for rotating saidsecond shaft between two extreme positions, differential gearingconnecting said second shaft with said switch actuating shaft and withsaid sleeve in such manner that rotation of said second shaft willrotate said switch actuating shaft when said sleeve is held stationarybut that when said second shaft is held stationary rotation of saidswitch actuating shaft will rotate said sleeve, biasing means connectedwith said sleeve and effective for holding said sleeve stationary whilesaid second shaft is being rotated but for permitting rotation of saidsleeve in response to rotation of said switch actuating shaft, and meansfor controlling the movement of said sleeve by said biasing means afterit is rotated by said switch actuating shaft.

9. In combination, a railway switch of the type adaptedto be trailed, alock rod connected with said switch, a locking plunger biased to alocking position and effective when in its looking position for engagingsaid lock rod to lock said switch in its normal position, means actuatedby a train trailing said switch when said switch occupies its normalposition for moving said locking plunger to its unlocking position,

a switch actuating shaft connected with the switch, a hand leverrotatable in a vertical plane, a sleeve journaled on said shaft, bevelgearing connecting said hand lever with said shaft and said sleeve,means actuated by said hand lever for moving said locking plunger to itsunlocking position prior to movement of said shaft in response tooperation of said hand lever, and biasing means connected with saidsleeve for opposing its rotation during operation of said hand lever.

10. In combination, a railway switch of the type adapted to be trailed,a lock rod connected with said switch, a locking plunger biased to alocking position and effective when in its locking position for engagingsaid lock rod to lock said switch in its normal position, means actuatedby a train trailing said switch when said switch occupies its normalposition for moving said locking plunger to its unlocking position, ahand lever rotatable in a vertical plane between two extreme positions,a rotatable member, means including bevel gearing for operativelyconnecting said switch with said hand lever and said member, a camrotated by said hand lever, means actuated by said cam for moving saidlocking plunger to an unlocking position prior to movement of saidswitch by said hand lever, and biasing means connected with said memberfor opposing its rotation during operation of said hand lever.

JAMES I. GRAMMER.

